The Crystal Diary - Me (best book club books for discussion .TXT) 📗

over in her grave when she sees all the mistakes I am about to make in attempting to raise you. So to make it easier on us both, why don’t you just keep calling me Thelma.” I hugged her slim figure. She pulled me close to her; my eyes began to leak again. I closed them hoping Thelma wouldn’t notice. Her arms were my one source of comfort, and I felt that with her beside me, the hurt would eventually heal. Of course she would never replace my mom, and it was a relief that I knew ahead of time that she wouldn’t try to. But I think I could accept her as my family in time.

Thelma looked over her shoulder to see three busy body nurses listening in on us from the doorway. Her blue eyes grew sharp with annoyance, but before she could tell them to leave a tall middle-aged man in a hospital uniform pushed past them and came rushing towards us. Thelma tucked a strand of long brown hair out of her face.

“Sorry to break this little visit up but uh, the paramedic said your legs were shattered in the accident right?” I nodded and told him my name. “ Well, Mrs. Oxford right?” Thelma after telling him my story and who she was, asked him to continue.

“She is going to need surgery. If you want we can have her legs x-rayed to show you if you don’t believe me. But from the way the paramedic described this young lady ‘s legs it is my belief that every bone in Gwen’s legs are in pieces.” Both Thelma and I gasped in horror and started to talk at the same time. Then after mustering semi-control over herself, Thelma asked the irritated doctor what the surgery consisted of.

“Well we won’t know just how bad the break is until we take a look inside so I really can’t tell you that.” He looked straight into my guardian‘s eyes with a glint of desperation. “Please tell me you have a one story house?”

“No we live in an apartment building why?”

“Because Gwen will be in no shape to walk up any stairs after this surgery, if her legs are as badly shattered as I think they are, she is going to have to have metal bones.” The doctor answered lowering his voice as he said the last part of his reply hoping I wouldn’t hear him. “We’ll incase the metal part in rubber, but she won’t be able to run for three months at the very least.” The Doctor informed her, “I will also recommend that we schedule this surgery immediately. If we don’t, the pieces of bone will fester in the leg and cause infection.”

“Oh of course,” Thelma agreed eagerly, “when is your nearest opening?” The doctor grinned and beckoned her to follow him into the hall.
Hearing no more of the conversation I fell into a deep sleep.


Chapter 3
Secret Treasures

A cold feeling, that felt like ice awakened me, I realized that it was from my legs, which didn’t hurt as much as they did before. A warm hand stroked my arm and I forced my reluctant eyes open. Thelma sat next to me in an uncomfortable hospital chair.

“Gwen, can you hear me?” I heard her whisper in my ear. I groaned and tried to sit up.

“What day is it Thelma?” It was too bright outside to be the same day.

“You have been asleep since yesterday when they did the surgery,” She laughed. “When the doctor and I finished deciding when they could do it, we came back inside and found you dead asleep. The doc. said they could operate on you now and the operation was successful. He was right though about your legs, he said that your bones were basically mush. You’re a bionic woman!” I laughed, but then remembered mom, and felt like I had no right to even be somewhat happy without her. Thelma saw my face fall and touched my shoulder.

“ Is it your mom?” She asked, “Well since you won’t be able to be there for the funeral, I brought you something that I know your mom would want you to have.” After looking around to make sure that the gossip nurses weren’t at the door she took a package out from her handbag and handed it to me. I ripped the professionally rapped package to find a cardboard box that was taped shut. Thelma reached over my hospital bed and pierced the tape with one of her car keys. Finally the tape yielded to my aching fingers and I reached inside taking out a large crystal. It was a violet/white color, about three inches long on a small gold chain. I stroked its glossy texture and wondered again and again why I had never seen my mom wearing it.

“Thelma, she never showed this to me, do you know why?”

“ I was going through her things late last night, I must admit I found many things in her room that she never told me about, including this.” Thelma held up a small book. The cover was a gilded scarlet that had a leather strap that locked the book covers.

“It looks like something out of the medieval times;” I sighed fingering the woven looking flower pattern. Maybe it’s some kind of journal or a gift from dad.

“If you don’t mind Gwen I am going to keep this until you leave the hospital,” my guardian said protectively. “In case there is some thing from your mom in there that we don’t want the doctors looking through. The crystal is yours though, and don’t worry I won’t try to look through the journal without you.” I hated having to part with something that might have some clue to where dad was or some message from him, but I knew Thelma was right.

As if on cue we heard the loud voices of news reporters and doctors arguing.

“Come on doc, KCRA3 needs a personal story from one of the victims--let us in!”

“ Not a chance slicker; most of these people are in a very fragile condition and are in no mood to talk to a couple of obnoxious reporters. Unless you are sick with “noisy-itous” I would be able to heal these people better if you weren’t in the building.” Thelma quickly shoved the book back into her handbag and I shoved the crystal underneath my bed sheets. We couldn’t hear the rest of the fight clearly, but from the low groans the doctor made it became obvious that he was losing.

“ Fine.” we heard him say at last. ‘’But pick out a victim that isn’t seriously hurt and make your stupid story no longer than two minutes.” Eager steps were drawing nearer and nearer to my room. I tried to neaten my messy hair in order to look more presentable if they picked me.

“If they try to interview you, it’ll be over my dead body!” Thelma told me under her breath.

“No, let them pick me if they want to, Thelma,” I confirmed. “If I get interviewed maybe dad will be able to find us and can take custody of me and you will be free.”

“Well look at it any way you want to Gwen, but if you tell them you name and that you are looking for your dad many phony fathers will probably come to our apartment expecting a reward and take off when they don’t get one.” Thankfully for Thelma the reporters passed right by my room without a second glance.
The rest of my time at the hospital was incredibly boring, as I was forced to spend it staring at a small TV screen watching movies that were meant for little kids. Daily visits from Thelma were a slight relief, but she had to hunt for a job as well, so she had to split her time up between visiting me and looking through the Help Wanted section of the newspaper at home.

The doctor, after one week said that the nurses would try to help me to stand for the first time tomorrow. He also told me that I might be able to go home soon and that I was making excellent progress. The nurses told me that my wounds from my surgery were nearly healed. I, on the other hand, wished that Thelma had decided to move or that my dad would walk into my room and beg me to come and live with him. How could I live in the same house without my mom? Every day would be torturous, I would wake up in the morning expecting mom to be in the kitchen cooking breakfast for me and then